Aston Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi has scored three goals in his last three appearances for Dean Smith’s side.
El Ghazi was brought to Villa by Steve Bruce, but he made a slow start to life at Villa Park.
The Dutch international struggled to make an impact early on, and was knocked down the pecking order at Villa.
However, after a chat with Smith, he was offered another chance to impress and he has seized it with both hands.
El Ghazi has been one of Villa’s most dangerous attacking weapons in recent weeks.
And Smith said: “I spoke to Anwar when I came in because I didn’t know an awful lot about him. He wasn’t on my radar at Brentford.
“When he came to Villa it was a bit of the unknown for me, so getting to know him was important. He came on against Norwich and he wasn’t, in his own words, as fit as he wanted to be. His performance wasn’t as good as he could have been.
“We sat in my office and went through clips, told him where he could improve and to be fair he’s gone and done that.”
El Ghazi has netted three goals in his last three Villa appearances, and also worked hard defensively.
The 23-year-old has shown a willingness to fit in with Smith’s high pressing style, and his quality is now coming to the fore.
Villa are next in action tomorrow, when they take on Stoke City.
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